Flu Season
by swister
Summary: Emma has the flu, and is comforted by her mother. Warning: Charming family feels ahead.
1. Chapter 1

**Flu Season**

Mary Margaret walked up to the door. She hesitated slightly, and then getting over her nerves, worked up the courage to knock.

"Hmm?" came a scratchy voice from inside.

"Em, can I come in?" asked a cautious May Margaret.

"Alright, but no blaming me if I get you sick."

Mary Margret twisted the handle on the door, and opened the door slowly. Emma flinched at the light shining in through the crack. She put her hands up to shade her eyes as they adjusted. When her eyes finally began to work again, she saw that Mary Margret had brought two cups of hot chocolate with her.

"Do you mind if I turn the lights on?" asked Mary Margret.

"Nah, long as there's cinnamon on those," she said motioning to the hot chocolates.

Mary Margret flipped the lights on, and took a seat next to Emma on the bed. Emma sat up, and picked up her hot chocolate. She tried to smell the hot chocolate, but her sense of smell was no longer functioning. She hoped her taste buds hadn't fallen off. Emma cautiously took a sip, but she found herself coughing up the hot drink.

"Careful, it's hot," warned Mary Margret, feeling the guilt of not warning her daughter earlier.

"Yeah, I noti-" Emma tried to be snarky, but was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Here, I brought you some Halls for you throat. They were out of the citrus flavour you like, so I got cherry instead." Mary Margret offered her the throat lozenges.

Emma tried to hide the fact that she hated the cherry flavour, and gave her mother a smile. She took the package and unwrapped one. She was about to throw it in her mouth when she realized that she would have to wait until after she finished her hot chocolate.

"Guess I should probably finish this first," she said.

"Yeah, I've heard cherries don't taste very well with hot chocolate," remarked Mary Margret.

The two sat in silence, drinking their hot chocolates. The silence was occasionally broken by Emma's coughing and Mary Margret's fidgeting.

"You know you don't have to stay," said Emma. "I'm sure David and Henry could use your help, you know, making something edible. I think you really need to teach David how to make toast without setting the house on fire."

"He was just adjusting to the new toaster."

"By setting off the smoke alarm? Even I can make toast," Emma retorted.

"Speaking of toast, do you want anything to eat? I mean I know you might just puke it up, but it might be good to get some food into your system."

"Yeah sure, I'll have some toast," Emma said, finishing off the last of her hot chocolate. "And maybe some water while you're at it."

"You'll need something to help you with the taste of that Nyquil."

"That stuff is godawful! Do not make me take any more of it!" Emma pleaded.

"I'll be back with your toast, your water, and your Nyquil," Mary Margret said as she left the room.

Emma tried to bargain with her as she left, but it was useless.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm still trying to figure out the site, so posting this took longer than expected.**

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Emma had been knocked out for a while thanks to the numerous medications her mother had her taking. Emma had unplugged the clock a while ago because the light was bugging her. When she finally woke up, she had no idea what time it was. She crept out of her room, and into the silent apartment. She assumed David was out at work, and Henry was at school. As she crept down the stairs, she heard the timer go off. She was startled by it, and almost fell down the stairs.

"Emma? You awake?" asked Ruby from downstairs.

At first Emma thought her ears were plugged from the flu, but soon realized that it was Ruby in her apartment.

"Ruby?" Emma asked.

"I figured I'd give your uh- Mary Margret a break. She went for a short walk, said she'd be back in time to take the cookies out of the oven." Ruby got up and made her way over to the oven. "I guess I should probably take these out before they burn."

"David set off the smoke alarm last week making toast."

"That doesn't surprise me. One time he dropped a torch and almost started a forrest fire," Ruby said while taking the baking sheet out. "For someone who's so good with a sword, he can be surprisingly klutzy."

Just as Ruby finished her sentence, the door opened.

"How was the walk?" Ruby asked as she set down the baking tray.

"It was nice to get out. Is Emma awake?" she asked as she noticed the blonde sitting in the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

"I didn't have to get up to puke if that's what you're asking," replied Emma's scratchy voice.

Mary Margret rolled her eyes, and took off her coat.

"I should probably get back to work if I want to catch the end of the lunch rush." Ruby slipped off the oven mitts and headed for the door. "When you're feeling better, you should come by for a grilled cheese."

Before she left, Mary Margret whispered to Ruby, "Thanks for watching her."

"If you need me again, you know where to find me," said Ruby as she walked out the door.

Mary Margret closed the door, and then took a seat next to Emma.

"I'm twenty-eight, and yet my mother still thinks I need a baby-sitter," Emma remarked sarcastically.

Ignoring her, Mary Margret asked, "Do you need anything?"

"A better immune system would be nice."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'm going to go grab the thermometer and see if your fever is getting any better," Mary Margret said as she got up and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is probably going to be the last chapter of this, so I hope you enjoy. **

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Emma Swan had not slept nearly as much as she'd needed to. She had been up for the past three hours puking. It was the middle of the night, so she had been trying to keep her frequent trips to the bathroom quiet. However, she was not successful.

She had just made her fourth visit to the bathroom when her body had discovered that she had no more food left in her system to get rid of. After her body gave up trying to puke out her internal organs, she did not have the energy to walk back to her room. She sat down against the bathroom wall and clutched her knees to her body. She grabbed a towel from off the rack and wrapped it around herself as a makeshift blanket. Feeling her headache come back, she placed her head on her knees and tried to clear her mind.

The past few days of being sick had finally caught up with her. Constantly putting up a strong face for her family took a toll on her body. Her muscles ached, her head hurt, her stomach was queasy, ad she could not take it. In the dark silence of the night she allowed herself to finally break down. A tear slipped down her cheek, and her sniffling became worse. She would've reached for the tissues in the cabinet, but she didn't have the energy. Instead she sat and cried.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a voice. "Emma? You okay?" asked Mary Margret.

Emma unlocked the door, and tried to compose herself before she spoke. "Mom?" replied the sniffling Emma.

Mary Margret tested the door handle to see if it was unlocked. Upon realizing that it was, she entered cautiously. Upon finding her daughter in tears and on the floor, her suspicions were confirmed. She knew that something was up the minute Emma called her Mom.

Mary Margret walked in the bathroom, and took a seat on the floor next to her daughter.

"Hey Emma, come here," whispered Mary Margret.

Mary Margret took part of the towel from Emma, wrapped it around herself, and pulled Emma in closer.

Emma's head fell into place on her mother's shoulder. And the two sat in silence. But this was a good kind of silence. Not like the silence that passed between them the day they were reunited, or the silence after Emma tried to leave Storybrooke, but the peaceful silence of a mother and daughter finally letting themselves be fragile and real.

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**For some reason, during that last bit I was unable to type the word silence. Anyway I hope that was a good ending.**


End file.
